METAIRIE, La. (WGNO) — Top Taco presented by Cerveza Modelo returns for the fourth year on Thursday, October 28.
The taco and tequila fiesta was scheduled to take place Thursday, September 23, but due to Hurricane Ida’s tough hit, the event had to be rescheduled.
“Hurricane Ida was obviously a tough blow for us and the entire community,” said Top Taco producer Shane Finkelstein “But the show must go on, and the majority of our restaurants and sponsors are in support of rescheduling to the Day of the Dead weekend.”
The rescheduled event will now carry a theme – Back from the Dead – and will include a Day of the Dead costume contest to go along with the originally scheduled live music and lucha libre.
The event will take place at Lafreniere Park in Metairie. The one-night-only event will benefit the PLEASE Foundation, a non-profit that provides education opportunities to at-risk teens. This year’s class includes thirteen new students placed in college preparatory high schools around the city and six high school graduates moving on to college.
Top Taco 2020 was postponed due to Covid 19 just one week before the festival in March 2020. Festival Producer Shane Finkelstein credits the continued support of Top Taco’s sponsors and participating restaurants for the ability to host the event in 2021. The hugely popular event debuted on the New Orleans festival scene in 2017. Since then, the event has raised more than $50,000.00 for local non-profit organizations.
“Top Taco is back in a new, spacious location that allows us to put on the type of festival people expect from us,” says Finkelstein. “Top Taco would have been difficult to put on if our fans had given up on us; more than 1,500 ticket holders had faith and held on to their tickets instead of requesting a refund last year,” he said. “We plan to reward them with an amazing night of tacos, tequila, and entertainment.”
In the Top Taco VIP lounge, El Tesoro tequila will present “A Night in Paradiso” with food and drink by Dickie Brennan & Co., a Family of Restaurants, which includes: Acorn Café, Bourbon House, Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse, Palace Café, Tableau, and Dickie Brennan & Co. Catering. Their culinary team will create gourmet tacos to serve in the VIP area. Bartender Andrew Bates, of the Palace Café Black Duck Bar, will create the tequila cocktails for the V.I.P. lounge.